Underhill J's tribunal changes set for the summer

Changes in employment procedure rules resulting from the review by Mr Justice Underhill are likely to be introduced this summer, the department for business, industry and skills has said, along with the introduction of fees.

The new rules include stronger strike out powers to enable tribunals to halt weak cases at the earliest opportunity and a new procedure for preliminary hearings combining pre-hearing reviews and case management discussions.

Under the plans for fees, claims for unpaid wages, holiday pay and redundancy would be labelled ‘level one’ and pay an issue fee of £160 and a hearing fee of £230. ‘Level two’ claims, including unfair dismissal and discrimination would pay an issue fee of £250 and £950, totalling £1200.

Mr Justice Underhill recommended that litigants who used a lay representative, rather than a lawyer, should be able to claim costs.

In a consultation paper published in the autumn BIS officials said restrictions on parties who did not engage a legal representative were “unfair and contrary to the overarching aim of employment tribunals” that the absence of legal advice should not put people at a disadvantage.

Officials said costs paid to lay representatives, which could include trade union officials or HR consultants, would have to be limited and might best be calculated using a capped hourly rate.

“We would expect that costs for lay representatives would be lower than that for lawyers, in that the service and advice that parties have received in these cases cannot be equated with the service and advice that would have been received from a solicitor.”

Mr Justice Underhill completed his review last summer. A spokesman for BIS said the new rules would be published ‘shortly’.

Employment relations minister, Jo Swinson (pictured) said: “We are committed to finding ways to resolve workplace disputes so they don’t end up with two sides in front of a tribunal.

“Employment tribunals are costly in terms of time, money and stress for everyone and they should always be the last resort, not the first port of call.

“We have always said, and this is backed up by international evidence, that the UK has one of the most flexible labour markets in the world.

“Our efforts to review of areas of employment law not just tribunals are about making sure business can get on and grow, while employees have the necessary protections in place.”